Wire fence tool



May 27, 1952 T. F. JENNINGS WIRE FENCE TOOL Filed June 12, 1950 Fig.3

QQLLI-LIQJ l4 Hi-l??? /o Theron F. Jennings TOR.

Patented May 27, 1952 OFFICE WIRE FENCE TOOL Theron F. Jennings,Smithshire, Ill.

Application June 12, 1950, Serial No. 167,626

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements. in fence toolsand the primary object of the present invention is to provide a tool forstretching wire between fence posts as the wire is nailed or stapled toa post.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a Wirefence tool including a fulcrum member for attachment to a fence post andhaving a gripping surface, and a clamping member pivotally secured tothe fulcrum member and manually actuated to force a wire against thegripping surface of the fulcrum member.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wire fencetool including a pair of gripping jaws one of which supports a fulcrumpin whereby the jaws may be manually swung. as a unit, on a fence post,and the other of which supports a lever to permit the jaws to be forcedinto clamping engagement with a wire and the lever also forms a meansfor swinging the jaws about the fulcrum pin.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a wire fencestretching tool that is simple and practical in construction, strong andreliable in use, eflicient and durable in operation, inexpensive tomanufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which thesame is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencesbeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a fence post and showing thepresent invention applied to the post and gripping a wire;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the present tool and with partsbroken away; and,

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of Figure 2 taken substantially inthe direction of arrow numbered 3 in Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose ofillustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the numeral l0 represents a first clamping member or anchormember having a base portion 12 and an enlarged head portion I 4. Thebase portion I2 is substantially rectangular and its longitudinal sidefaces l6 and I8 support a plurality of spaced parallel fulcrum lugs oranchoring points 20 and 22 respectively.

The head portion I4 is provided with an outer,

roughened, convex gripping surface 24. The head r portion is alsoprovided with a central recess 26- that receives an car 28 at one end ofa second jaw member orclamping member 30. The clamping member 30includes a roughened concave surface 32 that opposes the grippingsurface 24 of the head portion M.

A pivot pin 34 extends through the head portion I 4, the walls of therecess 26 and the ear 28. The surface 32 conforms to the curvature ofthe surface 24 and is spaced. from the surface 24 when the member 30 isdisposed co-axial with the member ID.

The member 30 is formed with a socket portion 36 in which is fitted oneend of a hand lever 38 and constitutes a means for forcing the member 30into clamping engagement with the head portion [4 and for swinging themembers l0 and 30 as a unit about a fence post P in which the lugs,either 20 or 22, engage.

In practical use of the present invention, the lugs 20 or 22 are forcedagainst the post P with the tool horizontal and with the surfaces 24 and32 spaced to accommodate a fence wire F. As the lever 38 is swunghorizontally, the member 30 forces the wire F against the surface 24 andcontinued horizontal swinging of the lever 38 will cause the members Inand 30 to swing and thereby tighten or stretch the wire. Then, fastenersmay be forced into the post and against the wire to retain the wiretightened.

The opening 0 reduces the weight of the tool, and the roughened surfacesS will give th tool a better grip when employed on very small posts.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A wire fence tool comprising an anchor member having an enlarged headportion at one end and a base portion at its other end, said headportion including a roughened convex gripping surface and a centralrecess, a clamping member having a central car at one end received insaid recess and a socket at its other end, a pivot extending through therecess and the ear, said clamping member having a roughenedconcavesurface in registry with the convex surface of said head UNITEDSTATES PATENTS portion, said anchor member including a. con- Number NameDate caved serrated post seat extending between said 513,816 Negus Jam30 1394 head portion and said base portion, and a plu- 561,976 DuboisJune 16' 1396 rality of pointed anchoring lugs projecting out- 5 763,549Ferguson et a1 June 28 1904 Wardly frOm Said base portion- 1,021,371'Medlin Man 2 1912 THERON JENNINGS 1,216,809 Highhouse Feb. 20, 1917KEEEBENQES 0.113 311 The renewing; references araof'reeord in the 10file of this patent:

